This invention pertains to the art of electric lamp assemblies, and more particularly to a base portion for a lamp. The invention is applicable to any lamp employing a metal screw base and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it will be appreciated that the invention has broader applications and may be employed in similar environments and applications.
Incandescent lamp assemblies typically solder a terminal end of a lead wire to an electrical contact or eyelet. Recent and expected governmental regulations are designed to encourage a modification of this well known lamp construction and result in new designs and manufacturing processes that eliminate or reduce the use of solders and fluxes. For example, lead-free solders have undergone recent development in an attempt to address the required reduction in the use of lead-based solders. Even then, other elements incorporated into lead-free solders do not adequately meet selected requirements for lamps, such as severe lamp temperature applications. Moreover, still other components in the lead-free solders are expected to be targeted for reduction or elimination in the future.
Although other solder free connections between a lamp lead wire and an eyelet have been proposed, these arrangements often require substantial modification of the equipment that is currently used to produce and assemble the lamp base components. Thus, it is deemed desirable to meet these needs without undue modification or alteration of existing equipment.
Moreover, other suggested arrangements for connecting lamp lead wires to the eyelet still result in an assembly in which the connection is potentially exposed and left unprotected. A soldered connection not only provided a sound mechanical/electrical connection, but additionally offered some limited protection to the lead wire/eyelet connection.